Up to 25% of NJ Transit's 63 peak hour trains would have to be cancelled or rerouted from New York's Penn Station when Amtrak's first midweek infrastructure work period begins on July 7, according to statements by Amtrak President Wick Moorman, and reported widely in media, including by Larry Higgs for NJ Advance Media. The work period is scheduled to run from July 7 to 25, with a second interval from August 4-28; additional work periods are being planned for 2018. Moorman said that the 25% estimate is an upper estimate, but that up to five platform tracks at the station might have to be closed.

Amtrak said all the station's railroads would issue revised schedules by the end of the week of May 15. For its part, Amtrak said it would reduce its usage of Penn Station, partly by terminating some trains in Newark, N.J. During some of the recent service interruptions, Amtrak terminated its Keystone Service trains to and from Harrisburg at Newark.

A familiar way for NJ Transit to deal with traffic problems at Penn Station is to reroute Midtown Direct trains (those serving the Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton lines from New York) to Hoboken. If Moorman's numbers are taken literally, up to 16 NJT trains would have to be cancelled or rerouted. But depending on how "peak hours" are calculated, simply rerouting these Midtown Direct trains may be sufficient to satisfy Moorman's worst-case scenario. NJT has promised full description of how they will cope with Amtrak's work plans, saying "Once a service plan is finalized, an extensive communications outreach will be announced to allow our customers sufficient time to react and plan their commute accordingly as Amtrak upgrades its infrastructure in the upcoming months. "

Meeting Dates

The Coalition normally meets on the fourth Monday of the month at Millburn Town Hall, which is a short walk from the train station.
(Walking Directions)

If you are coming to a Coalition meeting for the first time, here are directions from the Millburn Train Station. If you are coming from New York or somewhere else east of Millburn, walk down the stairs in the building and through the tunnel under the tracks. If you are coming from west of Millburn, walk down the stairs in the middle of the platform. Cross Essex Street and walk on more block to Millburn Avenue. Turn right on Millburn Avenue and walk about three blocks to Town Hall, located at 375 Millburn Avenue. The side door, facing the parking lot, is normally open.